14 real ways to make money from home for free (no big spending required)

Making real money working from home sounds like a dream come true—especially on a freezing winter morning when the last thing you want to do is head to the office. And while you’re unlikely to earn enough to replace your full-time income, there are several real ways to make money from home in Canada, without needing to make a significant financial investment on your part. Here are ways to boost your income from the comfort of your own home.

1. Complete surveys

How it works: Market research companies are willing to pay for your feedback, so you can earn money by answering online surveys about your lifestyle, interests and hobbies. All you have to do to get started is create an account on an online survey platform.
How much you can earn: $0.50 to $5 per survey.
Fully work from home: Yes.

• Pros and cons

  Pros

  • No barrier to entry. You don’t need any special skills or experience to get paid to answer online surveys—pretty much anyone can do it.
  • Plenty of options. There are several legit online survey sites in Canada where you can find earning opportunities, such as Branded Surveys, Survey Junkie, Prime Opinion and Swagbucks.
  • Flexible. It’s up to you how much time you commit to completing surveys each day, from a few minutes to a few hours, so it’s an easy way to make use of your spare time.

  Cons

  • Not lucrative. Filling out surveys is never going to make you filthy rich or replace your regular income.
  • Screening out. A regular complaint among users is getting screened out of a survey after taking the time to answer several questions.
  • Time commitment. You’ll need to invest a significant amount of time to see decent earnings from surveys.

• Tips to make the most money

  • Sign up on multiple platforms. Create accounts on multiple survey sites to ensure that you always have access to money-earning opportunities.
  • Check for surveys regularly. Check your emails, notifications and account dashboard regularly for the latest surveys.
  • Look for lucrative surveys. Longer focus group sessions, video interviews and product testing surveys provide the potential to earn more.

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2. Play online games

How it works: Some game developers will pay you simply for playing their mobile games. Rewards are often available for downloading the game, reaching certain levels and completing in-game tasks.
How much you can earn: $5 or more per day.
Fully work from home: Yes.

• Pros and cons

  Pros

  • Easy and fun. It’s simple to get started playing mobile games and an enjoyable way to spend your spare time.
  • Anyone can do it. There are no special skills or qualifications required to play mobile games.
  • Huge range of games available. From puzzle and action games to builders, strategy games and role-playing games, there’s a wide variety of options to choose from.

  Cons

  • Can be a grind. Some games require a lot of time and repetitive effort to earn rewards.
  • Not enough to replace your income. You won’t get rich playing mobile games.
  • Scams and extra costs. Watch out for apps that don’t deliver promised payouts or require you to make in-app purchases to earn money.

• Tips to make the most money

  • Check Reddit. See what Reddit users have to say about the most lucrative and fun games to play.
  • Choose games you enjoy. You’ll find it a lot easier to make money if you can find games you actually enjoy playing.
  • Watch out for gambling apps. Be wary of any casino-style apps that require you to gamble with real money.

3. Switch to another bank

How it works: Banks regularly offer welcome bonuses to entice new customers to sign up for an account. If you create an account and perform specific transactions, such as setting up a recurring deposit, you’ll receive a cash bonus.
How much you can earn: Approximately $150 to $700.
Fully work from home: Yes.

• Pros and cons

  Pros

  • Easy. Switching bank accounts to take advantage of welcome offers is a simple way to make extra cash.
  • You could find a better deal. The new account you open may offer a lower monthly fee or a better interest rate than your current account.
  • Plenty of offers available. You’ll find welcome offers from a wide variety of Canadian banks.

  Cons

  • Make sure it’s worth it. Just because an account has an attractive welcome bonus, that doesn’t mean it’s right for your ongoing needs.
  • Terms and conditions. In some cases, you may need to keep the new account open for a specified time period or perform certain transactions to qualify for a welcome offer.
  • Only for new customers. Welcome offers are typically only available to new customers, so you may not be eligible to apply.

• Tips to make the most money

  • Read the fine print. Check the terms and conditions for full details of what you need to do to qualify for a welcome offer — it’s often not quite as simple as just opening an account.
  • Shop around. Check out our guide to the best new bank account offers to find top deals currently available.

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4. User testing

How it works: When you create an account on a user testing platform, you can make money by using apps, websites and even physical products. Companies pay you to test how user-friendly their products are and provide feedback on your experiences.
How much you can earn: $3 to $5 per 5-minute test or $30 to $100+ for more complicated tests.
Fully work from home: Yes.

• Pros and cons

  Pros

  • Remote work. User testing offers a real way to make money working from home.
  • No skills required. You often don’t need any special skills or experience to test out products and websites.
  • Improve products. You get to help companies improve their products and services simply by providing your opinions.

  Cons

  • You can’t be shy. You’ll need to be a confident speaker and happy to provide detailed feedback to succeed as a user tester.
  • Repetitive. Some user testing jobs can be a little repetitive, which can make it a bit of a grind.
  • Sporadic work. The availability of testing opportunities varies from one day to the next.

• Tips to make the most money

  • Get a microphone. Depending on the user testing platform you choose, you may need to buy a microphone to record your thoughts, but upfront investment requirements are low compared to the earning potential.
  • Sign up on multiple platforms. Sign up for multiple user testing sites to maximize the testing opportunities available to you.
  • Look for lucrative tests. Live conversations and interviews tend to pay better than tests that require you to record your thoughts.

5. Share your internet

How it works: If you have home or mobile internet bandwidth that you don’t use, you can get paid to share it with other users. Platforms like Pawns.app and Honeygain allow you to share your internet and earn passive income.
How much you can earn: $0.10 - $0.20 per GB of internet.
Fully work from home: Yes.

• Pros and cons

  Pros

  • Quick and easy. It’s quick and straightforward to sign up and start sharing your internet, with minimal effort required.
  • Passive income. There’s no ongoing time commitment required to share your internet.
  • Help pay for your internet. You can use the money you earn to help cover the cost of your home or mobile internet plan.

  Cons

  • Not going to make you rich. The earn rate is quite low, so sharing your internet will only help you generate a little extra income.
  • Risk of IP reputation damage. Some Reddit users complain about having their IP address rating damaged by sharing their internet.

• Tips to make the most money

  • Share as much as you can. Share your bandwidth from multiple devices and internet plans to maximize your earnings.
  • Take advantage of referral bonuses. You may be able to earn a commission when you refer friends and family who also sign up and share their internet bandwidth.

6. Earn cashback when you shop

How it works: Apps like Rakuten and Swagbucks pay cashback when you shop online at their partner retailers. Your cashback earn rate varies depending on where you shop.
How much you can earn: 1% to 10% cashback. Learn more about cashback sites.
Fully work from home: Yes.

• Pros and cons

  Pros

  • Get rewarded for spending. You can earn cashback simply by doing all the shopping you would normally do.
  • Quick and easy to sign up. It’s simple and straightforward to sign up for a cashback app and start earning rewards.
  • No special skills required. You don’t need any special qualifications or experience to earn cashback.

  Cons

  • Temptation to overspend. Don’t be tempted to buy things you don’t need or spend more than you can afford just because of the cashback rewards on offer.
  • You have to shop at partner retailers. You’ll need to purchase from the cashback program’s retail partners to earn rewards.
  • Terms and conditions apply. Check the fine print to check whether there’s a minimum spend required to qualify for cashback, if your cashback ever expires, and how long it takes to receive your rewards.

• Tips to make the most money

  • Take advantage of special offers. Browse cashback apps for details of increased cashback rates and discount deals at selected retailers.
  • Make sure you’re getting a good deal. Always remember to look beyond the cashback offer. Shop around to make sure the purchase price you’re paying is fair.
  • Consider a cashback credit card. Increase your rewards by paying for purchases with a credit card that offers cashback on your spending.

7. Complete microtasks

How it works: Sites like Clickworker and Amazon Mechanical Turk will pay you to complete small and short online tasks like data entry, tagging images and performing word searches.
How much you can earn: Approximately $0.50 - $15 per hour.
Fully work from home: Yes.

• Pros and cons

  Pros

  • Convenient. You can complete microtasks whenever you have spare time in your schedule.
  • Anyone can do it. You don’t need any qualifications or prior training to become a microtasker.
  • Easy way to earn extra income. Microtasking provides a simple way to supplement your income.

  Cons

  • Low earn rate. The pay rate for tasks is quite low, so don’t expect it to make you rich.
  • Competitive. There’s plenty of competition for microtasks, so finding available tasks can be difficult.
  • Repetitive. Many tasks are quite repetitive, so don’t expect the work to be overly inspiring or stimulating.

• Tips to make the most money

  • Read the instructions carefully. Check the task instructions closely before starting to ensure that you do everything you need to get paid.
  • Choose reputable platforms. Scams regularly target microtaskers, so make sure you stick to reputable websites.

8. Online tutoring

How it works: Register on an online tutoring platform to offer your educational services. You could help students learn a new language, improve their math or science knowledge, or provide expert tutoring on a range of other specialist subjects.
How much you can earn: $20 to $100+ per hour.
Fully work from home: Yes.

• Pros and cons

  Pros

  • Flexible hours. You can work from home and choose a working schedule that suits your lifestyle.
  • Global student base. Online tutoring platforms allow you to connect with students from all over the world.
  • Supplement your full-time income. You can work as an online tutor to provide an extra boost to your full-time salary.

  Cons

  • Skills required. You’ll need to have specialist knowledge or training that you can share with students.
  • Not suitable for everyone. If you’re not comfortable with face-to-face online tutoring, you’ll need to look for other real ways to make money from home for free.
  • Online difficulties. You may find it harder to ensure that students remain engaged with the lesson in an online setting.

• Tips to make the most money

  • Create a great profile. When creating your profile on a tutoring platform, you’ll obviously need to provide details of your qualifications and experience. At the same time, it’s also important to include information about who you are as a person, including your interests and hobbies, to help make you seem more approachable and relatable.
  • Set goals. Work with each student to find out exactly what they want to achieve with your lessons. Check in with them regularly to make sure they’re on track to achieve their goals.
  • Get qualified. Obtaining extra qualifications might cost you money in the short term, but it will allow you to charge a higher hourly rate in the long run.

9. Sell plants

How it works: If you’ve already got a green thumb, you can turn your garden into a nursery and sell plants to other gardening enthusiasts. You can then list your garden goodies for sale on platforms like Facebook Marketplace.
How much you can earn: Varies.
Fully work from home: Yes.

• Pros and cons

  Pros

  • Turn your passion into income. If you’re a keen gardener, you can turn your passion for plants into profits.
  • Work outside. You get to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air while pursuing your side hustle.
  • Make use of your space. If you have plenty of garden space to work with at home, you can put it to work to help earn extra income.

  Cons

  • Hard work. You’ll need to be willing to get your hands dirty to make money with this approach.
  • Pocket money only. Selling your plants could earn you a little extra spending money, but it’s not going to make you rich.
  • Impact to your garden. If your garden is your pride and joy, you’ll need to be willing to cannibalize it to earn some extra cash.

• Tips to make the most money

  • Choose plants carefully. Choose low-maintenance plants that grow quickly and are easy to look after all year round.
  • Do your research. Check online sales platforms like Facebook Marketplace and local nurseries to get a feel for what plants are in demand in your area.
  • Consider rare plants. You won’t be able to compete with large nurseries, so you may want to focus on a niche market for rare plants in order to turn a profit.

10. “Flip” niche items

How it works: You buy cheap used items from thrift stores and on sites like Facebook Marketplace, restore or repair them, then sell them on for a profit. Items you might like to consider flipping can range from guitars and surfboards to vintage clothing, toys and furniture.
How much you can earn: Varies depending on the item.
Fully work from home: No.

• Pros and cons

  Pros

  • Diverse range of opportunities. You can potentially make money from reselling a wide variety of items.
  • Easy to find items. It’s easy to buy and sell items on marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji and Craigslist.
  • Flexible. You can work as many or as few hours as you choose with this side hustle.

  Cons

  • Effort required. You’ll need to put in time to find, inspect, restore, list items and sell them.
  • Negotiation. Expect to spend a lot of time haggling with buyers and sellers.
  • Storage space required. You’ll need to make sure you have enough room to store your inventory and any bulky items you want to flip.

• Tips to make the most money

  • Find profitable niches. Do some online research to get a feel for what sort of items are in high demand.
  • Know where to find bargains. From the best local thrift stores to garage sales and online marketplaces, shop around to find the best deals.
  • List on multiple sites. List your items for sale on multiple platforms to increase your exposure to potential buyers.

11. Create photos or videos

How it works: If you’ve been researching real ways to make money from home for free, you’ve probably come across the idea of selling stock photos and videos online. But Foap is an app that offers a slightly different approach. Brands post missions on Foap requesting specific themed photo or video content for their campaigns, and you can enter your content in these contests. If your content is chosen, you’ll get paid.
How much you can earn: Varies depending on the mission.
Fully work from home: Yes.

• Pros and cons

  Pros

  • Creative inspiration. Missions give you a particular theme or idea to use as a starting point, and you can then let your creativity take over.
  • Connect with brands. Get your work seen by major brands, with the potential to make contacts that could lead to future work.
  • Free to join. It’s free to sign up with Foap and check available missions.

  Cons

  • Competitive. Just like selling stock images online, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd when participating in missions.
  • May not be entirely WFH. You may need to head out into the world to capture images for a mission.
  • Not a consistent income. If you’re looking for a steady stream of income, you’ll need to consider other options.

• Tips to make the most money

  • Think outside the box. Look for unique and creative ideas to help your content stand head and shoulders above the competition.
  • Consider the brand’s identity. Make sure the images or videos you submit are a good fit for the identity and values of the brand behind the mission.

12. Sell printables

How it works: Printables are digital items like calendars, diaries, planners and greeting cards that are designed to be printed. You can create your own custom designs using cheap software like Canva, then sell them to people on marketplaces like Etsy.
How much you can earn: Prices generally start at around $1 per printable but vary depending on the item and its complexity.
Fully work from home: Yes.

• Pros and cons

  Pros

  • Minimal startup costs. There’s minimal investment required to start designing and selling printables online.
  • Passive income. Once you’ve created your designs, you can use them to provide a passive income stream.
  • No physical products. You don’t have to deal with the hassles that come with selling physical products, such as storing inventory or shipping items to buyers.

  Cons

  • Competitive. The online printables market is highly competitive, so it can be difficult to make your products stand out.
  • Design skills needed. You’ll need to have creative design skills to succeed.
  • Commissions. Depending on where you sell your products, you may also have to pay a commission to the platform you use.

• Tips to make the most money

  • Research the market. Browse sites like Etsy to see which popular printables are selling and find some creative inspiration.
  • Target a specific niche. Wedding planning, teaching, pets, travel itineraries—these are just a few of the many niches to choose from. Find a popular niche where you can create highly useful printables.
  • Test before selling. Do a test run and print out your digital products before listing them for sale. This will ensure that you pick up any errors or issues before it’s too late.

13. Rent out your possessions

How it works: Sites like Fat Llama make it easy to rent out a huge variety of possessions you might have lying around at home, or you could advertise items for rent locally. We’re talking about the sort of items that people might want to hire for one-off use, but that they wouldn’t want to buy outright. Examples include fire pits, kayaks, drones, projectors, poker tables and costumes.
How much you can earn: Varies depending on the item.
Fully work from home: Yes.

• Pros and cons

  Pros

  • Passive income. Put the stuff you own to work for you to generate ongoing passive income, with minimal time commitment required on your part.
  • Wide range of earning opportunities. Browse the latest online listings in your area and you’ll discover that there’s a huge range of items people are willing to rent.
  • No special skills needed. You don’t need any qualifications or experience to make money—just possessions that you don’t need to use every day.

  Cons

  • You’ll need suitable items to rent out. You’ll need to take stock of your possessions to decide whether you have anything people might need to rent for a day.
  • Liability concerns. Depending on the items you rent out, you may want to get renters to sign a liability waiver for added protection.
  • Risk of damage. There’s also the risk of your items being lost or damaged, though the rental platform you use may provide insurance protection.

• Tips to make the most money

  • Research what’s in demand. Check rental listings in your area to find out what types of items are in high demand.
  • Set reasonable prices. Consider how much you want to earn per rental, then research average rental rates in your area before setting your prices.
  • Stay on top of maintenance. Make sure you take care of all regular maintenance tasks to keep your rental equipment in good working order.

14. Rent out your yard for dog playdates

How it works: Sniffspot offers a website and app where you can rent out your yard or space as a private dog park. Dog owners then pay to let their pets play and explore in your backyard without having to encounter any unknown dogs.
How much you can earn: Around $3 to $13 per dog per hour.
Fully work from home: Yes.

• Pros and cons

  Pros

  • Minimal effort required. It’s quick and easy to list your yard for rent.
  • Use your asset. Renting out your yard allows you to put your unused space to work to generate extra income.
  • Easy to use. It’s quick and easy to sign up and list your yard for rent.

  Cons

  • Not all yards are suitable. If you don’t have a large yard or a space with unique features such as water access, you may not get many renters.
  • Not for everyone. You may not feel comfortable having strangers on your property.
  • Fees apply. You’ll need to pay a commission to Sniffspot (around 22%) every time someone books your space.

• Tips to make the most money

  • Keep it safe. You’ll need to make sure your yard is clean and free of any potential hazards for dogs.
  • Compare prices. Check the rental rates that other users in your area are charging to ensure that you set a reasonable price.
  • Upload plenty of photos. Take plenty of high-quality photos of your yard or dog park space to show all its features and highlights to potential renters.

Frequently asked questions

• How can I realistically make money from home?

  There are lots of different ways to make money from home. Some options are available to anyone and can help you earn some extra spending money, such as completing surveys or playing mobile games. Others require specific skills, such as working as a freelancer or a virtual assistant, but they can also be more lucrative. Get more earning ideas in our guide to making money online in Canada.

• Which app actually pays real money?

  There are lots of apps that reward you with real money or gift cards for doing things like answering surveys or playing games. Some popular options include Swagbucks, Freecash, HeyCash, Pawns.app and Prime Opinion.

• Do I need to pay tax on my online side hustle?

  Yes. You'll need to declare any income you earn to the Canada Revenue Agency when you file your taxes.

To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Leanne Escobal as part of our fact-checking process.

Written by

Tim Falk

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Tim Falk is a freelance writer for Finder. Over the course of his 20-year writing career, he has reported on a wide range of personal finance topics. Whether you're investing in stocks and ETFs, comparing savings accounts or choosing a credit card, Tim wants to make it easier for you to understand. When he’s not staring at his computer, you can usually find him exploring the great outdoors. See full bio

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